GDUSA Newsletter

MARCH 2013

APPLES AND ORANGES

The next installment of our 50th Anniversary “readers
choice” survey is now at the printer. (C’mon, you
remember: ink, paper, presses.) The first installment listed the
great designers. There was controversy, of course, but a consensus
built nicely around Milton Glaser, Saul Bass, and Paul Rand. Now
the focus turns to great design projects. Here there is less accord,
in part because of the “apples and oranges” quality to
the question. How do you compare William Golden’s CBS logo
to Massimo Vignelli’s NYC Subway Map to Shepard
Fairey’s Obama Hope poster? And did you vote for your
personal favorite or the most historically influential?
Consistency aside, it should again be fun when the next
installment arrives by mail. (C’mon, you remember:
postman, stamps, something real in your hands.) Meanwhile,
if you missed last month’s results, you can see them
HERE.

PELICANS PROJECT A FAST BREAK
The New Orleans Hornets are becoming the Pelicans, with an assist
from Rodney Richardson of RARE Design. To symbolize Louisiana
and the Gulf Coast, the recently relocated (from Charlotte NC) NBA
team turns to the brown pelican, the Louisiana state bird which
appears on the state flag, seal and license plates. A veteran of
branding programs for major corporations and sports teams,
Richardson told the Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger that: “When
they were starting on this, they were talking about some of the
unique challenges of the project ‒ everything from timeline
to regional sensitivity.” He noted that a project of this
caliber usually plays out at a slow pace, often over a couple of
years, but “ the project as a whole was put on that
expedited timeline, and we did it in about a month or two.”READ MORE >

BRAND MORPHS FOR MICHELLE
Wolff Olins New York has created the brand identity for Michelle
Obama's Let’s Move Active Schools campaign. Nike, a partner
in the campaign, approached the designers to develop an identity
for the new offshoot of Let’s Move initiative, this one
focusing on encouraging physical activity in schools. Designed
in still and animated forms, the logo takes the 50 stars of the
American flag as a starting point, morphing them into different
shapes. The key to success, says the Wolff Olins team, is
“tapping into kids’ psyche – they’re
the ones that need to embrace and get motivated by the brand.
The target audience is 8-12 year olds, so we worked hard to
avoid being ‘child-like’ and focused on being
‘kid-powered’. Not teaching them, but getting them
excited to take part … We captured that energy in the brand,
creating something that can be broken into parts, played with, and
joined up to represent a school, a community, a country.SEE MORE >

ECO-FRIENDLY PRESENTATION PACKAGING…

HOP! ON BOARD FOR QUICK TRIPS
Brandimage has developed the visual identity for a new-low cost
airline, Hop! The discounter, operating in Europe by Air France,
offers quick flights: this is reflected in the brand’s name,
which is meant to evoke the speed and ease with which travelers can
get from point A to B. An exclamation mark is placed alongside clear,
simple red letters to mirror the brand’s flexibility in a
creative and cheerful manner. The slogan – “making
Europe smaller” – supports a playful image and
underscores the brand’s mission. Visuals, developed to
promote the new airline, feature small, fictional characters,
very similar to the ones featured in Pixar's 3D computer-animated
comedy-adventure film Up.LEARN MORE >

The Bridgeman Buzz

Creative Concepts

Looking for a unique image resource? Bridgeman Art Library introduces new image galleries inspired by creative concepts.
Now it is easier than ever to find unique fine art and historical imagery for your commercial projects.
Explore this 40 year old image archive in a whole new way.

WEAVING HUMANITY INTO RUGMAKING
Brand design firm Sanstorm Partners has executed a brand strategy
and identity for Obeetee, a 92-year-old manufacturer of hand-knotted
rugs from India. The overall goal was to elevate the brand and add
value to the rug purchase by providing insight into the
quality – and the human element – behind the rugs.
Obeetee’s passion is to create a thriving, sustainable
economic engine for India's artisanal carport craftsmen communities.
But sales were in decline due to the proliferation of machine
and mass-maufactured rugs; the new brand identity emphasizes
authenticity, quality and sustainability. LEARN MORE >

WORKING WITH WORDS
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his design firm, Alexander
Isley is having an exhibit of the firm’s work at the Type
Directors Club Gallery in NYC. Isley will be showing work from
his early days at Tibor Kalman’s M&Co. and Spy magazine,
where he was art director. In addition, there will be work produced
for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nickelodeon, Giorgio Armani,
Central Park SummerStage, Girl Scouts of the USA, Elizabeth Arden,
MTV, AOL, Pepsi, Time Warner, Starbucks, and The City of New York.
The show runs through March 30.LEARN MORE >

‘GENERATION KNOW’ LEARNS MORE
With the help of digital agency Organic, Kimberly-Clark’s
U by Kotex has launched a new program aiming to shake up the
feminine care category – this time aimed at advancing
the conversation around vaginal health and wellness. Through
research and brand insights on today’s girls,
“Generation Know” hopes to empower girls. Organic
created an engaging and educational brand website where girls
can ask questions, get facts, dispel myths, and take part in
projects to facilitate social change. Organic also helped with
the large social media component, including a customized pipeline
of content for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr.SEE MORE >

MAG+ ADDS MORE DESIGNER TOOLS
Mag+ is a digital publishing eco-system that gives users a fast,
simple publishing platform to create content optimized for touchscreen
devices, without the need for programming skills. It comprises a
plug-in for InDesign CS4-CS6, a powerful web-based backend, and
white-labeled reader apps for iOS, Android and Kindle devices. A
new release, version 4.1, includes several enhancements to its
creative tool set for designing digital content apps for touchscreen
devices. These new features give designers more freedom to develop
digital content, including the ability to make apps that don’t
look like magazines at all. Other additions include pinch and zoom
functions, panning and dual layout options, support for the Kindle
Fire HD 8.9-inch and Google Nexus 10, and more options for
packaging subscriptions. Mag+ premiered on the first iPad in April
2010 with the award-winning Popular Science+. Publishers and
creatives have now built more than 800 apps, including Mad Magazine,
United Airlines’ Hemispheres, Toyota, WebMD, Outside, Shape
and The Nation.LEARN MORE >

GDUSA’s SPRING COMPETITIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES

PHL GETS SOME NEEDED TLC
Based on the three-letter code its airport and its main railroad
station, Philadelphia has a hip new identity that adopts
“PHL” to represent its appeal as a destination site.
The Philadephia Convention & Visitors Bureau is the client
and the design – by J2 Design Partnership based on a
strategy by Ex;it – provides unity out of visual chaos,
and is easy to adapt to print, online, signs, venues, and more.
A fun fact from the CVB: 40% of the USA population lives within
a day’s drive of PHL. SEE MORE >

TAKE YOUR LUNCH BREAK

Taking a lunch break can nourish your mind as much as
your body, a new survey by The Creative Group suggests.
More than four in 10 (44 percent) advertising and
marketing executives interviewed said leaving the office
during their lunch break makes them more productive.
Following are five tips to help ensure you enjoy a midday
breather:

1. Plan Your Day. Schedule your break to fall between projects, if possible, and set morning deadlines for important tasks so you can relax over lunch.

2. Arrange Mealtime With Colleagues. During a busy period, change a team meeting to a working lunch outside the office. The time away will improve your energy while maintaining productivity.

3. Book An Appointment. Block off your online calendar so colleagues don’t schedule calls or meetings during that time. Be flexible, though, if there are no other options.

4. Step Away From Your Desk. If you are unable to leave the building for lunch, take a walk around the office.

5. Put Work Aside. If you have to be near your computer or phone, face your chair away and do a nonwork activity, such as reading a book or magazine.